Poker-playing loner linked to Tube bomb plot
A teenager linked to the London Underground bomb plot was described yesterday as a poker-loving student who was only ever seen with his mother. Damon Smith, 19, moved from Devon to the capital recently to attend university with his mother, who feared he would struggle to cope on his own, neighbours claim.
A TEENAGER linked to the London Underground bomb plot was described yesterday as a poker-loving student who was only ever seen with his mother.
Damon Smith, 19, had moved from Devon to the capital over the summer to attend university. He was joined there by his mother, Antonitza, who feared he would struggle to cope on his own, neighbours claim.
On his Twitter account, Mr Smith poses with wads of money he has won playing poker and has also posted pictures of a recent trip to Tunisia. Several addresses linked to the student have been visited by police since a suspect device was found in a Tube carriage on the Jubilee Line near the O2 Arena in Greenwich on Thursday.
Police, who refused to confirm he was the 19-year-old in custody, raided his former home in Newton Abbot on Saturday and are also understood to have visited a nearby relative.
In Devon, officers discovered a second suspect device, understood to be behind a garage, which has since been described as “not viable”.
Counter-terrorism officers cordoned off streets near the property and are known to have visited at least one relative of Mr Smith nearby.
The housing association property Mr Smith shared with his mother is yards from the town’s police station on Baker’s Hill.
Ray and Enid Wilkinson, who live on the same street as Mr Smith’s former home, said his mother was divorced.
She said: “We knew the pair there because she had a dog and she used to go past with her dog.... Back in the summer they moved to London, the mother and son. We used to speak to her and the son.
“They are Teign Housing Association houses so she put in for a transfer, she told us that she wanted to move.”
Describing the mother as “friendly”, Mr Wilkinson added: “He [the son] used to play poker, he was a real poker fan and he used to join clubs and things like that. He didn’t speak too much.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “Damon went to go to university. He just seemed like a really gentle lad.”
The neighbour added: “Mum felt she needed to still be nearby to cook his dinner and stuff. I think that was another reason why I thought he was a bit vulnerable.
“They were always together, I don’t really remember him being with anyone else. He didn’t have a big friendship circle or anything.”
One member of the Smith family told The Daily Telegraph relations had been told not to speak to the press.
Security sources say the suspect, who was shot with a Taser outside London Metropolitan University on the Holloway Road, close to Arsenal’s football ground, was acting alone.
Scotland Yard has until Friday to question the suspect in custody. The force refused to confirm his identity.
A statement said: “Officers are keeping an open mind regarding any possible motive. They are not looking for anyone else in relation to this investigation at this stage.”